


Overwork

by chuuya



Category: Log Horizon
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Manhandling, nothing really rough though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 00:39:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3309245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chuuya/pseuds/chuuya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because the only way to stop Shiroe from working himself to death is to manhandle him, apparently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overwork

**Author's Note:**

> This was a pretty self-indulgent fic mainly written for only two people in mind. And because I've been so into Shiroe and Naotsugu's relationship ever since back when the first episode aired but I never got around to writing about them.
> 
> Also, I have no idea whether they have to sleep or not, lmao.

 

When there was a knock on the door, Shiroe paused his work for a moment and looked up, albeit unwillingly. Only now he noticed how badly his eyes stung from reading so much. He had spent so much time working his way through documents, that he hadn’t even noticed how fast the hours had passed. Judging from how dark it was outside the window, it must have been long past midnight.

He exhaled heavily and leaned back. His entire upper body felt stiff and his hand was getting cramped by now. Some bones in his body cracked when he arched his back.

“Come in,” he finally allowed entry to the visitor.

The door was pushed open and a familiar face peeked inside.

“You still up?” Naotsugu smiled at him, but there was a crease between his eyebrows. Shiroe knew that kind of expression. It was the same his mother had made whenever she had caught him playing Elder Tale until late at night. It hadn’t happened very often though, since she had been too busy most of the time, so Shiroe had mostly been free to do whatever he wanted.

“There’s a lot of stuff to go through,” he replied, as he lifted his arms over his head, and stretched them.

“Do you ever sleep?” Naotsugu pushed the door close with a gentle kick of his foot, before he inched closer to the desk and scanned the room. Shiroe’s desk, along with pretty much any kind of surface the furniture provided, was covered in documents and heaps of papers, binders and notebooks.

“Technically, we don’t have to sleep,” Shiroe replied.

“Yeah, but it makes you feel better. And it gives you a sense of..” He didn’t seem to know what kind of word he wanted to use. Frowning, Naotsugu brought his hand to his chin and tilted his head to the side.

“ _Normality_?” Shiroe helped.

His friend’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! Exactly! It makes you feel normal, you know? And it’s kinda hard to imagine myself to be awake 24 hours a day.”

“That’s true, I suppose..” Still, Shiroe didn’t want to stop working right now. His motivation was flowing, so why should he quit working for today just because of something as unnecessary as _sleep_?

Taking off his glasses and setting them aside, Shiroe pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a second. “I’d rather finish this in one go, though. I’ll sleep later.”

“Hmm..” Naotsugu had folded his arms and eyed him carefully. “Well, you’re the _elusive Enchanter Shiroe_ who barely sets a foot outside.. I guess you can sleep in and nobody will complain.”

“Are you jealous?” His friend seemed to be confused over the question at first, but then he noticed the sly grin that graced Shiroe’s features. He huffed and looked away in an almost _Akatsuki-like_ manner.

“I’m worried about you, is all.”

“I see.. That’s nice of you.”

Naotsugu blew up his cheeks the way Maryelle would do it whenever Henrietta ‘bullied’ her, which made him look a little ridiculous. “I’m serious!”

“Me too,” Shiroe replied calmly. He really was serious. Having Naotsugu worry about him like that created some strange, warm sensation in his chest area – much like during dinner every day, when he was eating outside with the rest of the guild and everyone was chattering and laughing and having fun together.

Having friends was nice, Shiroe had to admit.

“Get up,” Naotsugu ordered all of sudden. Shiroe blinked in surprise, but Naotsugu only nodded and wiggled his index finger a little. “And come here.”

“But why?” He still followed his friend’s order and rounded the table, until he stood in front of him with a suspicious frown on his face.

“Raise your arms over your head,” Naotsugu said, without paying attention to Shiroe’s question.

Shiroe let out a small laugh, before he did as told. “Are you going to arrest me? Oh wait- you’re trying to make me stretch, right?” Naotsugu must have noticed that he was all tense and stiff from sitting at his desk for hours. It would be a lot like him to force him to work out a little before he went back to work.

With this thought in mind, Shiroe probably let his guard down a little too early. Seconds later, Naotsugu stood right in front of him and bent over. Shiroe barely caught a glimpse of that devious grin on his face, before he felt Naotsugu’s arms around his thighs, and he was picked up and thrown over his friend’s shoulder. A yelp escaped his throat, and it didn’t seem to fit into his vocal range, because it sounded shrill and almost a little … girly, so to speak.

His face was pressed into the soft fabric of Naotsugu’s shirt. For a brief second, Shiroe was actually surprised that it smelled like something. Adventurers didn’t need baths or showers – yet they still took them, because it felt nice to soak in hot water – and their clothes didn’t need cleaning, at least not in the way they did in the real world. And yet, Naotsugu’s white shirt smelled fresh, like fabric softener. Maybe Serara or whoever was responsible for the laundry thought it was nice to add such a tiny detail to it.

Shiroe kicked his legs a few times, only to receive an annoyed groan from Naotsugu. He patted Shiroe’s back and leaned his head to the side. “Don’t struggle like that or I’ll drop you.”

Shiroe huffed. “That was the plan, actually,” he replied, a little bewildered in regard of the situation.

“Well, give it up. You’re not going back to work now.”

“But-”

“No _but_ s!”

Naotsugu whistled cheerfully while he carried Shiroe outside. He stopped in the hallway and turned around to close the door, which almost caused Shiroe to hit his head on the doorframe. Even though he was pretty sure he wasn’t all that light, Naotsugu was carrying him like he weighed next to nothing. It was probably due to him being a Guardian, which gave him a strong, muscular build. Admittedly, it still was a little funny to see him change out of his usual battle armor. Maryelle had, back when they had first met, commented on how buff Naotsugu looked, but as soon as he wore casual clothes, he looked almost _lanky_. Though of course he was still sturdier than most of the other guys in the guild.

They walked past the stairs that lead to the basement and headed down the hallway. Or more like, Naotsugu walked and Shiroe just dangled there. Slowly but surely, all his blood was rushing to his head and made his cheeks feel hot. That, and the fact that he was being carried like some _wench_ , as Demikas would call it. Shiroe was glad that everyone else from the guild was asleep now. He really didn’t want to be seen like that.

“Naotsugu? What are you- **_Shiroe_**??”

Scratch that. Apparently not everyone was asleep. Shiroe cleared his throat before he replied: “Hello, Minori.”

“What are you two doing?” Minori seemed to come a little closer as Shiroe could hear her footsteps. He turned his head to the side and looked at her upside down figure. She wore pajamas and held a glass of water in her hand.

“Well..” he began, not sure what he wanted to say.

“I’m bringing this guy to bed,” Naotsugu cut him off before he could form a proper sentence. “He’s been working since before noon and he just doesn’t know when to quit.”

Minori nodded, dumbfounded. “That’s Shiroe for you, huh.. But do you have to, uhm..”

“Mandhandle him? Absolutely!” From the way he talked, Shiroe could practically taste the happiness in Naotsugu’s voice. He really did seem to enjoy all this. “If I don’t treat him roughly, he’ll stay up all night and never sleep at all!”

Minori opened her mouth to reply something, but closed it again quickly. The way Naotsugu had said it made it sound very, very wrong. Even a middle schooler like Minori could catch on to that. After a moment of awkward silence, she smiled and walked over to the stairs that lead to the floor with the girls’ bedrooms.

“Keep doing what you’re doing then, Naotsugu.”

“Will do!” Naotsugu lifted his hand and saluted to her.

They waited until Minori was out of sight, before they continued their way to Shiroe’s bedroom. He had wanted the room closest to his office, but the guild had decided against it. Simply because he was a workaholic and would barely be seen anymore if there was a way to travel from the bed to the desk with only a few steps. It had bothered him for weeks, but eventually, he had come to accept it, when he had realized that his friends were worried about him and really did want to see him from time to time. Which was also why dinner was mandatory for everyone and nobody could skip it without a good reason. Shiroe had come to embrace this a lot quicker than he had thought he would.

Only a few more minutes went by until they stood in front of Shiroe’s room. Naotsugu opened the door and closed it a bit more carefully than the one from Shiroe’s office. Moonlight was shining through the large windows and illuminated the room for them, even though the lights were out.

“Man, you got even more books and papers here.. Do you have to make everything your workplace?” Naotsugu complained.

“Some of them are for entertainment,” Shiroe said with a miffed undertone.

“Huh..” Naotsugu picked up one of the papers lying on the chest in front of Shiroe’s bed. “ _Crescent Moon Alliance payroll_.. You have a weird taste for entertainment, Shiro. And isn’t that Maryelle’s work?”

“She always cries and whines when Henrietta wants her to do stuff like that.”

Naotsugu was silent for a moment. “I bet she told you that she was scared of doing it wrong and that she trusted your abilities more than her own.”

Damn. How did he know?

“How do I know? Well, I know what Maryelle’s like and I know what people have to say to get a favor out of you,” Naotsugu explained happily, as though he was some mind reader. Or maybe Shiroe’s trains of thought were too obvious to him by now.

Shiroe huffed and kicked his legs a little, which caused Naotsugu to stagger backwards for a moment. “Didn’t you want me to sleep? How long am I supposed to stay like this?”

“Hah? You’re acting like you hated being carried like that.” Despite his words, Naotsugu leaned forward a little. Shiroe slipped over his shoulder and let out a sigh of relief when he felt the firm wooden floorboards under his feet.

“It’s not that I hate it.. I just didn’t see it coming.” His hand reached up but froze in midair, when he realized what was off. “My glasses,” he said, “They’re still on my desk.”

Naotsugu shrugged. “You’re not going to need them anyways. You’re going to sleep – _now_.” Without further ado, he pushed his hand against Shiroe’s chest, hard. Shiroe stumbled backwards, flailed and grabbed onto his friend’s hand, that was still hovering in midair.

Together, they crashed onto the bed behind Shiroe. The wooden frame creaked loudly, as though it was going to break any moment.

Both lay still for a second. When nothing happened, Shiroe let out a deep breath and turned his head to look at Naotsugu, who was sprawled out face down on the bed, one of his legs between Shiroe’s, while his hand had buried itself in the sheets next to Shiroe’s head.

“Are you ok?” Even though he sounded worried, his lips curved into a triumphant smile when he saw Naotsugu’s startled expression.

“Is that your idea of taking revenge for manhandling you?” he pouted.

Shiroe chuckled, and shook his head. “I panicked. But it did take you off guard, hm?”

“It sure did.” Naotsugu raised his upper body a little, and flopped onto his side. He propped his elbow on the mattress and rested his chin on his hand while eyeing Shiroe. “You know, if you were a girl I’d joke about sleeping in your bed now.”

“You can still do that. Or does sharing a bed with a man scare you?” Shiroe was only joking, of course, but he enjoyed the way Naotsugu frowned and looked away for a moment, as though he needed to gather his thoughts first.

“It’s not that, but.. You wouldn’t react in a cute way.”

Now it was Shiroe’s turn to frown: “Cute? You mean like.. _Ah, Naotsugu, you pervert, how can you say something like that? Kyaaa.._ ”

Naotsugu looked like he had just taken a huge bite from an equally huge lemon. “You know, it’s not cute when you say stuff like that with your normal voice. At least try to imitate Minori or Serara.. Or Maryelle.”

“Especially Maryelle, huh?”

Naotsugu seemed to stiffen, which caused Shiroe to smile once more. His friend rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Shiro.”

“I’m talking about Maryelle. You know, blonde, tall.. guild leader of the Crescent Moon Alliance..” He paused and frowned as he tried to find more traits to describe the childlike woman. Eventually, he raised his hands in front of his chest and formed two cups. “Great.. assets..?”

When Naotsugu looked at him with big eyes, Shiroe expected him to get mad, since he was talking about the girl his friend seemed to like. But then Naotsugu started laughing. His back hit the mattress and he crossed his arms over his stomach as he tried to calm down. Whenever he gasped for breath, he only started laughing even more. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes and his breath hiccuped.

It took over ten minutes until Naotsugu calmed down again. He lay flat on his back, eyes closed, and his lips were curved into a smile when he spoke: “Is that why your bed is so huge? Because you want to share it with some girls with _great assets_?” he asked, and couldn’t hold back another giggle.

Shiroe rolled his eyes and folded his arms in front of his chest. “No. I just enjoy having lots of space when I sleep.”

“Huh? I’m sure you do. I gotta admit, it’s quite comfortable.” Naotsugu paused and turned his head to look at Shiroe. “I’m sure a lot of girls would love to join you, though.”

When Shiroe only blinked in lack of understanding, Naotsugu’s smile vanished and was replaced by a small frown. “Oi.. Don’t tell me you really didn’t notice?”

“Notice what?” Shiroe asked. He didn’t like this, seeing that he was one of those people that always understood everything that was thrown into their direction.

“Jeez, how can a guy be so blind even though he’s wearing glasses? There’s a bunch of cute girls around us who are totally into you.”

“Huh..” Shiroe turned his head a little, while he let that information sink in. “I never noticed.”

When he looked at his friend again, Naotsugu made a face as though he had been kicked by a horse. “You really are a terrible guy, Shiro,” he muttered, and sounded a tad bit sulky.

“I’m sorry..?” he attempted an apology. It didn’t sound very convincing, however. “I’m so busy managing the guild and the Round Table.. It never occurred to me that anyone would be.. you know.” For some reason, talking about this made Shiroe feel uncomfortable.

Naotsugu seemed to notice, since he didn’t prod any further. Instead, he rolled over on to his side again and eyed his friend without saying a word.

A few moments passed in which neither said a word. Shiroe glanced up when he suddenly felt something touch his face. He wanted to pull away immediately but when he realized it was only Naotsugu, his eyebrows arched lightly.

“Naotsugu?”

“You actually are a pretty handsome guy, huh?” Despite his wide smile, Naotsugu didn’t seem to be joking. His broad hand was warm on Shiroe’s face. Seeing that he was of the Guardian class, Shiroe had expected his skin to be rough and calloused, but it was neither of that. If anything, Naotsugu’s hands were broad and firm. Not as soft as a woman’s hands, maybe, but still soft enough.

“You only noticed that now?” Shiroe tried to crack a joke.

“Yeah, maybe,” Naotsugu replied without batting a lash. “You always wear your glasses and it’s hard to see your face most of the time, because you always stick your nose into books and documents.”

“I see.. I don’t think it’s my glasses’ fault though.” Shiroe concentrated on the feeling of Naotsugu’s touch. His index finger ran along his jaw, over his cheek bone and along his temple. It grazed his forehead and ran down the slope of his nose, where it stopped on the tip before it dropped lower. Shiroe stiffened lightly when Naotsugu’s finger ran over his lower lip.

“A really pretty guy,” he muttered barely audibly.

Shiroe didn’t really know what to do in this situation. He didn’t hate the way Naotsugu touched him – normally, he wasn’t big on body contact – and if anything, he actually liked it. Maybe, he feared, he enjoyed it a bit too much. The warmth of Naotsugu’s hand seemed to seep into his body and warm him up from the inside. His clothes felt way too thick on his skin right now.

“Hey, Shiro?” Naotsugu’s voice was low and slightly raspy.

“Y-yes?” Why was he stuttering? Shiroe clenched his fists for a moment.

His gaze met Naotsugu’s, and for some reason, Shiroe was suddenly painfully aware of how much his heart was racing in his chest. He swallowed, the _gulp_ audible in the otherwise silent room.

“Can I..” Naotsugu paused. He drew his lips into a thin line before he leaned in some more and continued talking. “Can I kiss you?”

Normally, Shiroe would have laughed. At least that’s what he assumed. But now, as he looked his friend in the eyes, and all he could hear was their breathing and the way the sheets rustled when Shiroe’s clenched fists let go of it, his throat felt dry and his tongue seemed to be a useless piece of flesh that didn’t want to work along with him.

So, Shiroe did the only thing he could do in this situation: He nodded.

Naotsugu’s eyes widened for a moment. Then, the corner of his mouth twitched lightly. Shiroe almost expected him to start laughing and tell him that he had been joking. That thought alone made his chest sting painfully.

He didn’t have a chance to wonder why that was, because Naotsugu finally leaned in. The tip of his nose brushed against Shiroe’s for a brief moment, and that sent a shiver down his spine already. Naotsugu’s hands rested on the mattress, on the right and left side next to Shiroe’s head. Shiroe was distracted by that, so when Naotsugu really did kiss him, his eyes flew open in surprise.

Theoretically speaking, there was nothing special about a kiss. Shiroe knew that, but he couldn’t deny that the feeling of Naotsugu’s lips on his own caused goosebumps all over his body. His stomach churned, but in a strangely pleasant way. He shivered and his trembling hand came up to rest on Naotsugu’s upper arm, simply to hold on to something.

There was a low, wet noise when they broke the kiss and Naotsugu backed off a little. The strange sound made Shiroe’s cheeks feel even hotter than they already were. Surely, his cheeks were about as red as those ripe tomatoes Nyanta had raved about earlier that day. He was glad he was lying on his back right now, because his entire body trembled and his limbs felt like jelly.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Shiroe blinked a few times before he looked at Naotsugu. He was rubbing the back of his neck, and blushed lightly.

“Really?” Shiroe knew that he probably sounded stupid, but that was the only thing he could ask in that moment.

Naotsugu looked up and smiled bashfully: “It’s kinda lame, isn’t it? Having a crush on someone you met in an MMORPG and all.”

“I …” He wanted to say something – he _had_ to – but Shiroe was unsure what to reply. He sat up and shifted on the mattress until his back leaned against the headboard of the bed. He pulled his legs to his chest and rested his arms on his knees. “I don’t think it’s.. _lame_.. Or anything like that. Admittedly, I don’t have any experience with those things, but I’m sure something like this happens to a lot of people.”

His words would have had more weight to them if he had come up with a good example. Sadly, he couldn’t think of one, aside from Maryelle’s obvious crush on Naotsugu. That thought only served for another painful pinch in Shiroe’s chest area, and he decided not to mention her right now.

“Was that your first kiss?” Naotsugu didn’t seem to worry about the lack of actual examples. He looked at Shiroe, curiosity obvious in his gaze. Shiroe turned his head away in embarrassment, and didn’t say anything.

“So it really was?”

Shiroe sighed. “What if it was?”

Naotsugu’s eyes seemed to light up instantly. He reminded Shiroe of a dog, who was wagging his tail excitedly. Was that the way Isuzu viewed Rudy?

“I’d be honored of course. The first kiss is the most special one, after all!” Naotsugu explained and gestured wildly while doing so. “If I had known, I would have enjoyed it even more.”

“Are you saying you.. _halfassed_ it?” Shiroe pursed his lips.

Naotsugu flinched and his hands froze in midair, before he held them up in front of his chest. “That’s not what I meant. Really!”

“I’m just pulling your leg, Naotsugu.” Shiroe laughed and tilted his head back. Joking around with a friend in the middle of the night felt nice. It reminded him of those times before the Apocalypse, when he had spent night after night in the game and only went to bed when the sun had started to rise. It was different when you really were together with someone. When you could hear their voice without earphones and were able to see the expression they had on their face when you talked to them.

All these thoughts didn’t fully drown out the feeling of his rapidly beating heart and the weird tingling sensation in his stomach, though. Something Naotsugu had said about having a crush on him caused his head to spin. Shiroe had to think about that. He had to analyze it carefully before he formed an opinion about it.

“You should sleep, Shiro. Think about whatever you’re thinking right now tomorrow.” Naotsugu got up from the bed and stretched his arms over his head. When he saw the confused look on Shiroe’s face, he grinned. “What? I can totally see that you’re mulling over something.”

“Is it that obvious?” Shiroe watched as Naotsugu walked over to the door – almost bumping his knee on the edge of the massive wooden chest in front of Shiroe’s bed – and put his hand on the handle.

“I don’t know if it’s obvious.. But I guess I know your thinking face by now.” His lips curved into a smile. The way he looked at Shiroe was so full of fondness, Shiroe had to look away. He reached up and wanted to adjust his glasses, only to remember that they were still sitting on the desk of his office.

“Good night, Shiro.”

“Ah.. Sleep well.”

Only when the door had been closed and the sound of Naotsugu’s footsteps faded away as he walked down the hallway, Shiroe allowed himself to let out a deep breath. He put his hands on his cheeks and felt how hot they were, only because of that kiss they had shared.

Naotsugu was right. They _were_ friends. But after what happened today, Shiroe wasn’t so sure about their relationship anymore.

Maybe they were a bit more than just friends now.


End file.
